Democrat Peltola feeling the heat as Alaska launches CRIMINAL probe into alleged 'Decoy Dan' ballot scheme

Democrat Mary Peltola was trying to stay ahead of her Republican opponent in the U.S. Senate race in Alaska. Now she'll have to stay ahead of a corruption probe.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) has ordered a criminal investigation into a scheme allegedly committed by Peltola's campaign against Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. President Donald Trump, too, has weighed in, calling for Peltola to be removed from the ballot.

'Ballot-stacking should have no place in our electoral process.'

The Peltola campaign has been credibly accused of engaging in a ballot-stacking campaign — allegedly seeking out individuals with the same name as the Republican senator and recruiting at least one, Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg, to run for the Alaskan Senate seat.

The New York Times blew up the campaign's long-standing denial of wrongdoing with a bombshell report on Wednesday that advanced damning allegations from Peltola's former campaign manager Elisa Rios.

Rios, who retroactively attempted to retract all of the statements she made to the Times, alleged that: Peltola's campaign spearheaded the ballot-stacking scheme; top campaign aides, lowly staffers, campaign lawyers, and aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee were involved in the scheme; and Peltola was "definitely aware" of the scheme though not directly involved.

The DSCC has denied involvement with the other Dan Sullivan's campaign, and a spokesperson for the Peltola campaign told Blaze News that "the Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign."

When asked on Wednesday about the damning report from the Times, Peltola suggested it was a "distraction, another diversion" from Sen. Sullivan's votes on the Iran conflict as well as an opportunity "to sell newspapers."

RELATED: NY Times exposes Alaska Democrat's alleged hunt for another Dan Sullivan to run against Republican

President Donald Trump and Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan (R). Kent NISHIMURA/AFP/Getty Images

Sen. Sullivan isn't buying it.

Nate Adams, a spokesman for Sen. Sullivan, told Blaze News on Wednesday, "Mary Peltola and her campaign have spent months gaslighting Alaskans, denying a scheme they were running all along. We always knew this was a concerted effort to deceive voters, and Mary Peltola was hoping it would stay hidden until after the election."

Nick Puglia, National Republican Senatorial Committee regional press secretary, said in a statement to Blaze News, "As we have said from the start, Decoy Dan was recruited by Mary Peltola and her Lower 48 cronies to deceive Alaskans. Peltola must be held accountable for her scheme and will be rejected again."

The new revelations about the alleged scheme evidently captured the attention of the Alaskan governor.

Gov. Dunleavy stated, "Today’s New York Times reporting reveals disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska’s elections by recruiting candidates — including one with the same name as an incumbent U.S. Senator — to deliberately confuse voters and misdirect their votes."

"The Alaska Division of Elections investigated these very concerns in June of this year. The new reporting substantially supports the Division’s findings," said Dunleavy.

The Alaska Division of Elections ruled in June that Dan J. Sullivan was ineligible as a candidate and would be removed from the ballot.

Carol Beecher, the elections division director, said in a June 15 letter that J. Sullivan had not filed "an actual good-faith candidacy for the office of United States Senator," but instead intended "to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality."

Beecher found J. Sullivan's candidacy particularly questionable because he allegedly:

• had never before registered to vote or sought ballot access under the name "Dan Sullivan";
• had never been affiliated with the Republican Party yet filed to run as a Republican;
• had a campaign website using a similar format, color scheme, and overall theme to Sen. Sullivan's campaign website; and
• worked with a political consultant who is "a known longtime supporter of Democratic candidates including the primary Democratic challenger to Senator Sullivan."

Although J. Sullivan was removed from the ballot on June 15, a state Superior Court and finally the Alaska Supreme Court reinstated him.

Gov. Dunleavy said in his statement that he is "directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted."

"Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections," he continued.

"Anyone or any organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable."

Blaze News has reached out to the Peltola, S. Sullivan, and J. Sullivan campaigns for comment. The DSCC did not immediately respond.

President Donald Trump sounded off on the alleged Democratic scheme and called for Peltola to be removed from the ballot.

"It was just determined that the Dumocrats in Alaska, despite their sworn statements to the contrary, put a man named Dan Sullivan on the Ballot in order to confuse the Public with respect to Highly Esteemed Senator Dan Sullivan," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Wednesday evening. "This is Voter Fraud at the Highest Level."

The president said that "the Dumocrat Candidate, who was involved in the scheme, Mary Peltola, should be removed from the Ballot and prosecuted — So should the FAKE Dan Sullivan. Nothing else will do! This behavior in our Elections cannot be allowed to continue."

Peltola is apparently now too radioactive even for anti-Trump Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R).

Murkowski, who endorsed a Democratic candidate in the Alaska gubernatorial race this week and has previously endorsed Peltola, said in a statement on Wednesday, "While some may try to write this off as just how politics works now, ballot-stacking should have no place in our electoral process."

"Recruiting candidates to manipulate the field and influence voting outcomes is simply wrong," said Murkowski. "Alaskans deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign — what has been revealed is a pattern of lies and coverups and a culture of deception that belongs nowhere in our elections or among our elected officials."

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